What is dry?

10/26/2016 (Permalink)

It is amazing how many people become "drying experts" when a water loss happens. Contractors will tell a water mitigation company what is wet and dry, home owners will let a mitigation company know that there is no water in this room, and commercial building owners afraid to infringe on a tenant will inform the mitigation company that the water definitely did not affect the space on the other side of the wet wall. Fortunately, mitigation companies like SERVPRO have a variety of gauges and tools at their disposal. As a SERVPRO owner, I have had employees tell me "that looks dry", or this "seemed to be dry." There is no "looks' or "seems" when it comes to being dry. Dry is dry. Now, the actual dry standard may be different in various places of the home, say like a basement vs. an upstairs area, but dry is still dry. 

"Mrs. Smith, would you please allow me to check the closet on the other side of this wall just in case?". This scenario happens quite a bit and it is amazing how many times a homeowner is shocked as to how far the water ran. Failure to be thorough in the initial investigation can result in many long term issues.

A healthy sense of curiosity needs to be in every water mitigation person. Permission to find the "edge" of the water migration needs to be given to mitigation team. It is not a matter of making the job bigger than it is, it is protecting the property owner and mitigation company from future issues.

SERVPRO personnel will have multiple tools including invasive and non-invasive meters, hydro-sensors, hygrometers, and FLIR cameras to help determine the extent of the loss and monitor the progress of drying to get the property back to "dry". Just remember, "dry" can be proved, don't leave it up to chance.